ITASCA (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Northwest suburban leaders came together Wednesday afternoon to voice their opposition to the Canadian Pacific, Kansas City Southern rail merger.
Describing the decision as disgusting, disappointing and even dangerous, the Coalition to Stop CPKC says the Surface Transportation Board hastily approved a rail merger without regard for its impact on Chicago’s suburbs.
Areas along the Milwaukee District West line that typically see three freight trains a day will now see between 11 and 18.
“11,000 additional carloads of hazardous materials will course through the Chicago suburbs, 50% of which are flammable,” said Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi. “So imagine that 5,000 carloads, at least, of flammable hazardous waste, will be added to the traffic running through the suburbs.”
While the STB claims the average freight train will only be an additional 10 cars in length, DuPage County Chief Engineer Chris Snyder said the environmental impact analysis suggests otherwise.
“Let's be clear. It's eight trains that are 10,000 feet long, plain and simple,” Snyder said. “We don't look at averages. We look at the environmental impact of the action and the action is 15 miles of new trains going through our coalition communities every day.”
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Emergency responders said the added train length will double, triple, even quadruple their response times and critical intersections are blocked.
“Whether responding to a report of a structure fire, a heart attack or an assault in progress, response time is the critical factor on whether these situations end in a positive outcome,” said Itasca Fire Chief Jack Schneidwind.
“They have approved a 400% increase in freight rail traffic in our communities,” added Bensenville President Frank DeSimone. “As we have said from day one, any increase in the length or amount of freight trains will greatly harm our first responders duties to save lives.”
The coalition’s fight is far from over. Organizers said they plan to pursue congressional hearings on rail safety and will be closely watching the STB as it oversees the merger for the next several years.
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